Pro-Bending Escapade
by FelixFelicis009
Summary: Korra meets a new earth bender on a rival pro-bending team. In this story, Korra and Asami have never dated before. Korra and the new girl hit it off. Potential to turn into a polyamorous thing with Asami. Smut to be expected.
1. Bending Match

Chapter 1

"I am unbelievably nervous," I sputter from the locker room.

"You don't have time to be nervous. Snap out of it! We're up against the Fire Ferrets, and yes, they have the Avatar and two highly experienced pro-benders, but remember this: The Avatar will only be water bending, so she's nowhere _near_ as threatening in the rink as she is in person. And the whole team has been on hiatus for years now. They only recently got back into the gym. So we he have a chance! Now come on! Cat Owls on three! One, two, three!"

We break the huddle in a flurry of adrenaline and ready ourselves at the edge of the platform, ready to make an entrance into the arena.

"And now, introducing the well-known, much loved, increasingly famous FIRE FERRETS! MAKO! BOLIN! AND OF COURSE… AAAAAVAATAAAR KORRAAAA!" The crowd erupts into deafening applause in support of our opponents, and it's doing nothing to help my nerves. Outside of the arena, I am definitely fan-girling over the whole team: Bolin and his goofiness, Mako and his intensity, and of course, Avatar Korra herself (for so many reasons). But inside the arena, this admiration for the Fire Ferrets only fuels my intense need to beat them. _Especially_ Korra. Republic City needs to know that she's not the only badass bender chick around.

"Finally, after a THREE MATCH WINNING SPREE, I introduce to you ZABEN, MILO, AND TAZMAH OF THE CAT OWLS!" I forget about the Avatar and launch into the theatrical entrance we rehearsed. Milo stands in the back and waterbends giant owl wings behind us as Zaben launches us across the platform on a fury of firey paws. We all leap upwards as I send earth discs into the air and Zaben explodes them with shots of fire, like fireworks without the gunpowder. We land in our fighting positions in the arena, ready for battle. Dramatic, I know, but the fans love it.

As corny as the entrance might be, the physical exertion has a calming effect on me. And the crowd's raving support for our team helps me perk up too. What can I say! I'm a people pleaser. But the time for theatrics has passed, and I am only focused on kicking the Fire Ferrets' asses. The bell rings and I launch into attack, targeting Mako.

In the last round of the match, I got exactly what I wanted (and feared): A one-on-one match up against the Avatar. I held my own for a grueling four or five minutes before Korra demolished any hope I had of making a comeback. With water up my nose, in my eyes, and lodged in my ears, the Avatar played a dirty trick and waterbent a pool behind me before blasting me backwards and sending me sliding off the edge of the rink. The smirk I caught a glimpse of as she sent me careening was enough to give me the impression that she was toying with me. As upset as I am about the loss, I can't help but laugh about it too. She knew I wanted to face her girl-to-girl, and I can only imagine the satisfaction she got from beating the Cat Owls with a strong tie-breaking win like that.

We relive the match as a team, lamenting our loss but not entirely disappointed. We played really well and gave one of the most popular teams around a run for their money; how could we be upset about that?

"That was killer. We almost had them. Taz, you were killing it in the last round against the Avatar! I thought you almost had her a few times!" Zaben encouraged.

"Hahaha! Did you see how she took you out though?! You looked so crazy!" Milo could hardly talk through his laughing. Zaben politely held his laughter until he saw me cracking up too. We all clutched our sides as we joked about it for several more minutes, including Milo's unflattering impression of how stupid I looked with water all over my face, slipping backwards on watery runway into the pool below. I was still giggling and fondly reminiscing about the match as I pushed open the door to the women's bath house.

"Ah," I sighed to myself, "Can't wait to wash off _that_ embarrass- Oh shit! Sorry, didn't think you'd still be in here!" Why. Why does our first formal meeting have to be in the bathroom after getting my ass kicked?

"Haha, hey, good to see you too. Nice match!"

"I can't tell if you're mocking me."

Now Korra is blushing. "No, no! I don't mean it like that at all! I had fun fighting you, is all. I just… I was feeling pretty confident after our win in the second round and got a little vengeful after you guys knocked out Mako and Bolin so easily."

"Ha, yeah, tell Mako sorry about the brick to the gut. I really wanted to fight you myself though." Now I'm blushing again. "My name is Tazmah, by the way. Taz. I don't think we've ever formally met."

"I'd get out and shake your hand, but…" Korra shifted self-consciously in the foamy tub. Thank the Spirits she put some sudsy scented solution in before I even got there. I am not at all prepared to see the Avatar naked.

"Oh, right, we'll I'll leave you to your bath then. I guess you deserve it after waterbending my face like that," I laughed good-spiritedly. I turned to go wash off somewhere else, but realized there wasn't anywhere private in the bathroom for me to undress or bathe without being in full view of my nemesis. Ha, nemesis. More like idol.

"I didn't know you were an air bender," Korra joked.

"What? Oh… I…" I had been turning slowly in place as I looked around the room trying to figure a solution to my socially uncomfortable problem. I guess I looked like I was trying to spin myself like a propeller out of that situation. Which I kind of was.

"You can join me in here if you want! I don't mind the company."

"Oh!" Fuck. "Um, thanks for the offer, but I think I'm just gonna skip the bath today. I was gonna meet Zaben and Milo for some noodles in a few minutes, and after that dunk in the ring I think I'm rinsed off enough okaythanksthoughnicetomeetyoubye!"

I darted out of the bath house before I could be further embarrassed in front of the Avatar. She's so personable and down to Earth! It is incredibly intimidating.


	2. Early Morning Training

Chapter 2

"Korra! Korra, are you coming with us to go eat? Asami invited us all over for dinner while you were taking a bath. What took you so long, anyway?"

"Oh hey Bolin, thanks for wondering about the very private matter of me taking a bath! If you _must _know, I was talking to someone."

Mako and Bolin raised their eyebrows knowingly.

"_Someone_, eh? Could it be _someone named Tazmah?_"

I responded by smirking and grabbing my bag to leave. "So to Asami's then?"

"What! We don't even get to know what happened?! In the _locker room!?_" Mako protested.

"Daaaaang. Korra really is a player. I'm starting to think all this Avatar stuff is going to your head!" Bolin noted.

"Oh yeah, coming from a previously self-obsessed mover star, I really find it hard to take the criticism," I chided back. So, what? The Avatar isn't allowed to use her Avatar-ness to create personal harmony? With other ladies? That just sounds like a missed opportunity to me.

Speaking of ladies… I'm curious about Asami. Over the years, we've gotten to know each other quite well. I rely on her and trust her with my life, as I've had to so many times before with Avatar business. On top of all of that, she's a great friend, a cute girl, and we get along so well. I like her- _like her_ like her- and I get a sense sometimes that she feels the same way about me. The only thing is that we've never really talked much about it. Sometimes her hand lingers on my shoulder; sometimes we hug a little closer and a little longer than necessary. We sit close together during movers or share private meals together. But we never, ever talk about it. My sense is that we need each other too much to jeopardize it by dating or kissing or something. Plus, there's all that history with Mako, Asami, and I that I really do not want to recreate. So as it stands, we are just friends who have a special connection. I guess I have to be okay with that.

Dinner at Asami's was great, all thanks to my favorite air benders. Jinora kept making fun of Ikki and the others for not having their air bender tattoos yet, which is always amusing. I asked her if she thought I would ever be good enough at air bending to get tattoos, and she said that if I air bent at all the way I pro-bent the Cat Owls today in the last round of the match, I'd be a shoo-in for getting my tattoos. Everyone laughed and had a great time, and besides, we love being spoiled by Asami's chef. Still high off the days victory, I couldn't help but think about pro-bending. My Avatar duties are a little lax at the moment, which is a nice and much needed break that affords me the opportunity to train at pro-bending with the guys. I have early plans for the gym tomorrow.

I remember training with Tenzin when I was first learning to air bend. He couldn't have gotten me out of bed before the sun if he tried, and oh, how he tried. But this was completely different. Today is a perfect day to get up before the sun and head to the arena to do some more pro-bending exercises. The pressure and attention I get from being the Fire Ferret's water bender is so much more relaxing and encouraging than the pressure I get from being the Avatar. It's nice to have a positive and fun way to re-direct all the energy and attention sometimes.

There are a few perks to being at the gym before anyone else. One is that I get to play the phonograph and use the music to get into a rhythm. Before long, I find myself sweating and punching, bending, not even limiting myself to just water bending anymore. I'm sending targets flying, exploding my own discs of earth in the air with blasts of fire and water, combining fighting styles to give my body a full workout and challenge myself to see my limits. That's why I didn't notice or hear someone approaching behind me.

"Good morning, champ!"

I scream and spin around, lobbing my next vicious earth bending attack at my surprise visitor.

"WHOA!" She screams and dips, trying to dodge the chest-level disc of earth peeling towards her. Unfortunately, Tazmah isn't quick enough for the surprise attack and it nails her in the shoulder and sends her crashing to the ground. "Damn it, Korra!"

"Oh no, I'm so sorry!" I run over to her to assess the damage. "I didn't hear you come in! I was really in the zone! I'm so sorry!"

She squirms into an upright position and groans, using one hand to hold her up and the other to rub at her shoulder. I notice her shirt is ripped and she's bleeding a little. "Ugh, you didn't rag on me enough in the arena yesterday?"

"It's nothing personal, I swear! Can I help you up?"

She accepts my hand and I pull her to her feet. The phonograph is still playing my workout music, and I send a small blast of air in its direction to blow the needle off the record. "Now you're just showing off," Taz jokes. "Sorry to sneak up on you like that. I'm not used to other people being in the gym this early."

"Yeah, I was feeling really pumped about pro-bending and wanted to come in early today. It's so much nicer than Avatar training, and I could really use the break lately. Hey, Taz, sorry again about your shoulder. And your shirt. Can I offer to heal you? I'm not the best water tribe healer who ever lived, but I know enough for an injury like this."

"Actually, that sounds like a pretty good option right now. I'd like that."

We head to the locker rooms again so she can lay down properly. I feel unusually nervous when I ask her to take her shirt off so I can access her whole shoulder. I hardly known this girl, and it seems like the trend is for us to be at least partially naked every time we meet. I tell her as much as I begin to work on healing her shoulder.

"I swear I'm not doing this on purpose."

"Yeah right," she teases. "You're just trying to keep me out of the game so you won't have to fight so dirty next time we play."

"Ah, still sore about me kicking your ass yesterday?" I love talking trash.

"You're lucky you're the Avatar or I'd kick _your_ ass right now!" She dishes back. We have a nice rapport going as I heal her. I find out that she lives on her own in one of Republic City's modest apartment style housing units. She tells me about a spirit she named Dingo, a little foxlike flying spirit that always perches on her window. I tell her about Naga, my polar bear dog, and how it's good that Asami taught me to drive so I wouldn't have to always show up late to everything with windswept hair from riding Naga.

I finish healing her shoulder with water, but I'm desperate to find any excuse to prolong the good time I'm having just talking with her.

"So, uh, Taz, I think that's as good as it's gonna get with my water healing."

She lays still without responding immediately. When she sits up, wearing just her earthy pants and a wrap around her chest, I glance at her firm abdomen and turn, almost imperceptibly, a shade of pink.

"Oh, feel free to check out my abs," she says as she stretches her shoulder, rotating her arm back and forth, testing the healing job I did. I can't tell if she's just joking or if my blushing wasn't as imperceptible as I first thought. "I'm joking, relax Korra!"

My shoulders slacken with relief. "Oh gosh, yeah, I known! I just didn't want you to think I was looking at you like that! Not that… not that you're not nice to look at. I mean, not that I was looking. I mean, I saw your abs but I wasn't… I mean!"

I'm cut off from my apologetic and embarrassing tirade when she starts laughing, "I think we're even now from that stunt you pulled in the locker room yesterday."

I crack a smile now too. "Yeah, I guess we are even. Except I ripped your shirt and attacked you without warning. Can I make it up to you by taking you out with me and my friends tonight? We're going to dinner in town. I'd love if you came along!"


	3. Night Out

Chapter 3

How I found myself at a dance club in the middle of Republic City with the Avatar and her friends, I'm still a little fuzzy about. But when I walked into the top story of a chic restaurant, I decided I was unfortunately under-dressed.

Without having the social grace to manage the situation another way, I blamed Korra. "When you gave me the address, I didn't know we were going to a _fancy_ restaurant! You should have warned me so I could have worn something a little fancier than an elaborate fighting uniform!"

"Ah, give it a rest, Taz. We're not super fancy people, so it doesn't matter," Korra consoled.

"Really! Don't worry about it! When Mako went on his first date with me, I had to buy him an outfit. It was pretty funny though," Asami added. She was really sweet so far as I could tell. I felt very comfortable around the lot of them almost immediately. Bolin has been especially helpful in making me feel at home in the new group, both with his personality and his Earth Kingdom roots.

"Besides, you look great," Korra added, leaning in to murmur it so only I could hear. Does that count as flirting?

The dinner that followed was spectacularly fun and full of us relating street fighting stories to each other. Asami, despite her non-bending, is not as prissy as her make-up and wealthy family background might suggest. She had us all shocked and laughing about a time when a guy off the street tried to mug her before she more or less sterilized him, much to his whole posse's embarrassment. As dinner finished, the group grew quiet and began eyeballing each other across the table.

"Am I missing something, guys?" I asked. I had an uneasy feeling that they were about to pull something on me.

"You don't have any plans for later, do you, Taz?"

"Uh… no?" I answered, hesitant.

"GREAT!" Bolin sprung out of his seat and grabbed my arm and pulled me from the table. I looked back, about to exclaim about how I hadn't paid for my meal yet, but I saw Asami and Korra dropping some bills onto the table and waving at the waiter, who grimly waved back. Mako soon had my other arm, and soon we were all hopping in the car they had arrived in.

In the back seat, with Bolin and Mako on either side of me, someone produced a small flask. Mako took a pull, and handed it to me. "Famous Fire Nation drink. Not that I would know much about the Fire Nation, but Lord Zuko recommended it to us when we met long ago, and his people sent us a fair amount. It's pretty rough alcohol to drink straight if you've never done it before, but I think you'll like the spiciness," Mako explained.

I sat holding the bottle and looking around the Satomobile, wondering if this was all a gag and where we were headed. As I wondered, Bolin snatched the bottle from my hand and took a pull for himself. "WOOOO! WE'RE GOING DANCING TONIGHT!" He offered me the flask again, and this time I took a hearty swig myself before passing it up to Korra.

"None for you, Miss Sato. Someone has to make sure our assess get to the club safely!" Korra teased, with a nudge to Asami on the shoulder. She took a swig too, and soon we were all singing and laughing on the way to the club. Whatever club that might be.

Upon arriving, I realized the merit of passing around the bottle of Fire Nation Mystery Juice. Everyone in the club was spinning and swinging wildly, in pairs, to the music. If this is what I'm in for tonight, good thing I had a little something relax my inhibitions! By way of introduction, Bolin shouts, "Welcome to The Club, where Republic City's own brand of swing dancing abounds! Everybody grab a partner!" I'm only partially aware of my nervousness about the situation. I don't have much experience dancing, but I figure tonight I'm about to get some experience!

Mako and Bolin each are welcomed by a group of girls nearby who apparently know them from something, and they rush off to join the dance mid-song. Asami mumbles something about needing a drink or two to get started, and heads off to the bar, leaving Korra and I standing near the entrance.

"I'm gonna have to level with you, Korra. I've never done any sort of partner dancing before. I don't even know what's going on in here," I confess.

"Ah, I figured that might be the case. Not many pro-benders are also pros with dancing! Believe it or not, Captain Beifong's sister is really into dance. When we all visited her city a while ago, she got the four of us into dancing." Sensing my uneasiness, Korra adds, "Don't worry, I'm gonna show you some moves. I won't pawn you off onto somebody else until later." Then she gives me a wink, which is _really_ hard to not take as flirting.

Korra leads me to a quieter, more private area of the bar and explains the basic step to me. She shows me a few moves, each time taking my hands in hers, and occasionally dragging a hand down my arm or across my waist. All part of the dancing, I tell myself. And with each move, I stumble through the steps, smiling and blushing and accepting Korra's encouragements and corrections. When it's time, she leads me to the dance floor where we find the others and she leads me through a few songs. The rest of the night I spend drinking and changing partners every few minutes, sometimes dancing with Bolin and Mako, sometimes accepting a stranger's offer to dance. Sometimes Asami and I dance, but neither of us know how to lead, so she tries her best and we laugh and turn and make it up as we go. After each song, though, I glance at Korra to see if she'll ask me to dance. Sometimes she does, and others she just smirks at me or winks and accepts someone else's hand.

"Whew, I am BEAT!" exclaims Asami at the end of the night. Bolin and Mako chime in, each sharing the unique experiences they all had throughout the night. I find myself sitting against the wall of the building outside, near where Korra stands smiling. As the others load into the car, Korra's polar bear dog comes bounding up to us.

Korra exclaims a greeting to her dog and pets her. "I guess you guys'll have to go ahead. I suppose I'm taking Naga home tonight. Taz, would you care to join me for an evening ride?"

I perk up at the offer, especially because I figure that means basically spooning Korra on the back of the beast. "I'd love to! I've never ridden an animal like her!" I spring up from the ground and start petting Naga too, pretending not to notice as everyone in the car gives Korra encouraging winks and fist pumps and nods. I guess that means she's _definitely_ been flirting with me all night.


	4. Get to the Good Stuff

Chapter 4

Tazmah has _got _to be feeling my vibe tonight! I laugh to myself as I think of what my more spiritual friends would say about our chi aligning or something. Chi, vibes, whatever. All I know is that Taz sounded super eager to ditch the others, and I'm not complaining.

"So uh, I guess we'll have to get a bit up-close and personal for the ride," I announce as I hop on Naga's back and extend a hand towards Taz.

She leaps up without taking my hand, but immediately wraps her arms around my waist. "We seem to be getting pretty good at 'up-close and personal' lately. I mean, we've seen each other nearly topless twice already!"

She says it like she's joking around, all non-chalant, as if it has no effect on her. But my feeling is that her unnoticing affect is a cover up for some _other_ feelings. A little unnecessarily, I pull her arms a tighter around my stomach as I warn her to hold tight for a bumpy ride. In order to make good on my promise for a said ride, I spur Naga on a little faster and more wildly than I would usually travel.

The three of us run to the edge of town, dodging Satomobiles and pedestrians, until we reach the rocky forests on the outskirts of town. I lead Naga on an obstacle course of sorts, weaving in between trees and leaping over brush and across rocky slopes and creeks. When we reach the shoreline, I slow us to a halt.

"How about that for your first polar bear dog ride?"

I realize Taz has been tensely gripping my waist this whole time when I feel her slacken, her head collapsing on my back between my shoulder blades. "Holy shit," she gasps, "No wonder Asami had to teach you how to drive a car. This is no way to travel day-to-day!"

I laugh, and she lifts herself off my back, allowing me room dismount. This time she accepts the hand I offer. She stumbles a little on the dismount, I guess because she's still shaken from the ride.

"Hang on," I warn, gripping her a little tighter and pulling her into some sort of embrace. She stiffens as we both realize how close our faces are to each other.

"Ha, sorry, for an earth bender, I'm not usually this ungrounded."

"That's fine. For an air bender myself, you've got me swept off my feet." I grimace. Nice, Korra, you enormous fucking dork with your stupid pick-up lines. Did that even make sense? I quickly try to recover. "Sorry, Taz, that was unbearably cheesy. I'm just… I think I really like you."

Taz had backed away earlier, but now we're really close again. She takes a step towards me, and I take a step back, unsure of what's happening since it all seems to be happening so fast. Next thing I know, she's taken my hands in hers, and she's placing them around her neck. When she drops her hands from mine, she takes my waist and steps closer to me again, trying to close the short distance between our bodies. I'm not unsure anymore. We're going to kiss, and I can't wait. I've been putting off thinking about it- actually acknowledging this possibility- but now I'm embracing it. _She's _embracing _me_. She pushes forward, stopping her lips an inch from mine, giving me the opportunity to control our first connection. So I move in slowly, looking in her brown, earthy eyes, then down to her lips before I close my own eyes and kiss her.

It's slow, our lips slightly parted, and we don't move for a breath. I pull away to look at her again, but Tazmah's eyes are still closed, her lips still expectant. I kiss her again, this time longer. I take my time closing my lips around hers, separating just so I can draw her in again, like the focused breathing of an air bender. But I'm not thinking about air bending. I'm thinking about her taste, a little cinnamon spice from the alcohol, the unique quality of her skin. I'm thinking about the feeling of her hands on my waist; they're strong and firm but somehow I have the illusion of floating. I think about my own hands, which are hanging behind her head with my wrists crossed, and I slide them to the side of her face without thinking. I want to hold us there. I want to suspend the moment indefinitely. I want her to feel my skin and my hands and my touch and be full of the wonderment that she's making me feel.

I hardly realize it as she steps into me, pushing me backwards. For a brief moment, I feel Naga's fur on the back of my neck and arms before she yelps and steps away, sending Tazmah and I crashing to the ground. In a fit of giggles, we break our kiss with her laying between my sprawled legs on the sand that is growing cooler in the night's darkness.

"Hahaha, what are your friends going to think when you tell them how your first kiss with a really hot pro-bender went?" Taz teases, still propped up against my chest.

"What are _your_ friends going to think when you tell them you kissed the Avatar?"

"They won't believe me in a million years."

"They would if they saw it themselves," I respond, searching for her reaction.

Taz searches my face too before responding, "Maybe there's some things I don't want them to see…"

With her hand on my shoulder, she pushes me flat on my back where tiny dunes of sand collapse under the weight of our moment together. She climbs over my hips and straddles me, exuding a confidence that fills me with a sudden heat. She's not moving any more, just staring at me, smirking. Hold up, _I'm_ the one that smirks here! Tacitly, her eyes are asking me to beg.

"Kiss me." I'm not begging, or asking; I'm demanding. Her smirk widens, but before she can fire off a sassy remark, my fist is balled in the collar of her shirt and I'm pulling her back towards my lips. She complies, catching herself with her hands in the sand behind my head, her face hovering above mine.

"Only if you ask nicely," she says with a new style of teasing. She uses her mouth to turn my cheek, exposing the side of my neck. I close my eyes and give way to the surging feelings in my abdomen as she plants long, slow kisses on my neck with parted lips.

"Fuck!" It's both an exclamation and a desire. "Please! Please kiss me."

"I thought I was kissing you," she drawls.

"Ugh," I groan. This is almost unbearable, but in the best way. I don't say anything else, but shift my hips underneath hers. She kisses her way back up from the collar of my shirt to my ear. I don't think I can take any more teasing. I grab the small of her back and squeeze it against me, bracing myself for her touch.

"I'm kind of liking this…" Pause. Kiss on my earlobe. Whispering, "…exchange."

Involuntarily, my hands turn to claws and I'm scraping at her shoulder blades, burning with the desire to be grasping at more than cotton.


End file.
